Intermission
by DoctorH
Summary: This tale re-imagines the events of the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" after the intermission. HAL knows that Bowman and Poole have discussed disconnecting him if he is faulty, and Poole is about to do something that might prove HAL to be malfunctioning. Suppose that, instead of HAL murdering Poole, it is discovered that the problem HAL uncovered really was human error...
1. EVA Abort

"Intermission"

Author's notes: This story picks up after the intermission in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey (and takes place in the middle of _Discovery_ 's mission). This story does not begin with HAL murdering Frank Poole, as the movie depicts. Rather, the tale pursues an alternate story line, in which Poole does not exit his pod to go fix the antenna array (which the movie depicts as still in motion has he heads toward it); and it is discovered that maybe HAL was right after all, the communication problem is attributable to human error.

Many aspects of this story are based upon actual physics and technology. An object dropped on the centrifuge _really will_ pursue an apparently curved path, for example. A deep space probe _really does_ have an Earth ephemeris. An astronaut _really does_ anchor his/her body in low-gravity conditions, before applying a force or a torque to something. An object in micro-gravity _really is_ both weightless and massive at the same time. Jogging on a centrifuge _really would be_ a difficult to do. An astronaut working on a large object that might move _really ought to wait_ until the large object is no longer moving, if possible.

The urinals on a rotating space station _probably would_ all face the same direction, for the reason given in the story. If someone had mentioned this to Stanley Kubrick, he might have found a way to work it into the movie.

Some parts of the story are depicted in the movie. The movie shows Dave, Frank and HAL doing an interview with BBC reporter Martin Amer. HAL's chess irregularities appeared in the movie. The use of terms like "B-pod" are from the movie (the novel called the same pod "Betty"). The movie showed how HAL became aware that Bowman and Poole had discussed disconnecting him.

Some aspects of the story are based upon both the movie and the novel. For example, the novel explains (and the movie implies) that the AE-35 unit points the antenna array at Earth, but it is not itself the antenna nor does it process any messages. Some features are drawn exclusively from the novel and are not in conflict with the movie, such as HAL's use of the term "condition yellow," or Bowman's remark not to "bleed" the air from a pod, or Poole's reference to a "waldo." At least one key plot point, that having an astronaut in proximity to a moving antenna could be a serious hazard, was mentioned in the novel but was not well-depicted in the movie, at least as far as Poole was concerned.

Still other aspects of the story are purely a matter of the author's imagination.

 _"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity."_  
— _David Bowman_

(Less pithy was Stephen Colbert on 11 October 2017: "All this time we've been worried the next war would be caused by artificial intelligence; turns out the real danger is natural stupidity.")

* * *

B-pod gently floated over _Discovery_ toward the center of the craft. Frank Poole, piloting B-pod, was taking his time.

David Bowman monitored Poole's progress from the _Discovery_ command deck. Telemetry looked good. Cameras looked good. The pod was being tracked perfectly.

Bowman saw only one thing that caused him concern. The high-gain antenna dish seemed to sway slowly on its pivot, with the dish rotating the wrong way, turning to face the sun instead of turning to face away from the sun. Poole's work area was on the opposite side of the dish, and illumination near the work area was critical. Poole would need sunlight to see what he was doing.

"HAL, move antenna to neutral and lock down," Bowman ordered. "Frank, hold off on your EVA until the antenna is locked down facing the bow and you have some sunlight."

Poole answered curtly: "Roger, Dave."

"All right, Dave." HAL spoke smoothly. "The antenna is moving to neutral. It will be locked by the time Frank gets there."

Bowman was more cautious. "Let's be careful. Frank, don't bleed your pod until we have lock confirmation."

"Roger. In parking position now. Pod view port oriented toward _Discovery_."

As Bowman and Poole watched, the dish gently rotated past its neutral position facing the bow, and continued moving. About fifteen degrees past neutral, the antenna stopped, then swayed in the other direction. It again rotated toward the neutral position, and rotated past.

"HAL," Bowman said in an even voice. "Is there a problem locking the antenna? I don't want Frank working on the antenna while it's moving." This concern was a serious one. The antenna had more mass than Poole did, and a gentle nudge might send Poole tumbling out into space. A really solid push might be too much for Poole's suit thrusters to overcome. And a hard collision might not only knock Poole beyond the point of rescue, it might well cause serious injury to Poole or damage the life support capabilities of his suit.

"I understand, Dave," intoned HAL. "I am analyzing the situation."

"Frank," Bowman addressed Poole, "hold off until we can get the antenna locked down."

"Roger," Poole acknowledged. "Standing by. Watching the show."

The antenna stopped, and after a few moments, rotated slowly in the other direction. When it reached the neutral position, it kept rotating.

"HAL," Poole said in an even tone. "The antenna does not seem to be locking down."

It took HAL at least ten seconds to respond. In his time, that was an eternity.

"I am sorry, Frank, but the antenna is not responding to commands to assume neutral position. I am analyzing the situation."

"Is it directional control?" Bowman wondered. "Is it the AE-35?"

HAL responded promptly. "Negative, the backup AE-35 unit is currently operating within specifications, and in any event AE-35 unit functionality is not required nor employed for neutral locking. Further, I have eliminated the motor controllers as potential sources of disturbance. Positional feedback is fully functional, but neutral setting is not found."

The thought hit Bowman like a thunderbolt. "It has to be the sensors, then. The positional sensors aren't accurately relaying where the antenna is, relative to neutral, or relative to the ship. And that's why neutral can't be found. What do you think, HAL?"

"Positional sensor failure is a possible cause. I can confirm the sensors are operable. It is possible, however, that the sensor alignment is off, and that is why the neutral position cannot be found."

"Can you verify misalignment, HAL? If so, can you realign the sensors?"

"I'm sorry, Dave, I can't do that. I cannot verify alignment or misalignment. Furthermore, I cannot adjust the sensors, as sensor deployment is fixed and and is not subject to remote adjustment. Alignment must be assessed from inside _Discovery_ , and any realignment must be performed manually from inside _Discovery_."

Bowman watched as the antenna once again swung toward the neutral position and kept on going. Bowman took a breath and gave his next order. "Frank, abort your EVA. I say again, abort."

Five seconds later, Poole responded. "Okay, Dave, I'm heading back to the barn. But clue me in. What are you thinking?"

"HAL detects a fault in the antenna directional unit. We check the unit, and we know it's not a bad unit. And Mission Control's twin 9000 thinks that the fault prediction is a computer error. Right so far?"

"Yeah."

"Mission Control had data about our control systems. But what if the problem isn't with the high-tech equipment but with the low-tech equipment? HAL: did Mission Control get data about our antenna's positional sensors?"

"Mission Control received information that the sensors are operable."

"Which is exactly what we're seeing _now_ ," Bowman continued. "The sensors _are_ operable. But apparently the sensors have lost alignment or possibly calibration. And Mission Control didn't know that. In fact, we didn't suspect it until a few minutes ago."

"Dave," Poole broke in. "Are you saying that you think the AE-35 failure prediction was due to misaligned sensors?"

Bowman put the question to HAL: "What do you think, HAL?"

HAL responded at once. "Sensors out of alignment would manifest as potential loss of fine motor control of dish aim. That potential loss of fine motor control, especially if progressive, would strongly indicate a progressive fault in the AE-35 unit, which is the control unit responsible for directional control."

"Okay," Poole granted. "But I'm not sure that explains why you and the twin 9000 on Earth disagreed, HAL."

"Actually, Frank, it explains it perfectly. The AE-35 unit samples sensor data at a nominal rate, and it was this data that was sent to Earth. By contrast, I sample at a more accurate rate. What I am saying is, Earth may have received less precise data than was available to me. Thus the other computer determined that the AE-35 was performing as expected, while I detected minute deviations of performance."

"You know what I think, HAL?" Bowman let himself smile. "I think we may have solved the mystery. And the solution is that it was not a fault in the AE-35 unit, and it was not a computer error, either. Do you think you can hold the dish in position long enough for us to send a message to Earth, to ask permission to test that hypothesis?"

"Yes, Dave. Visual tracking on gross motor control is feasible."

"Is the bay ready to receive the pod, HAL?" Poole asked. "I'm coming to the doors."

"Affirmative, Frank."

"Then open the pod bay doors, please, HAL."


	2. In the Spine

"Pilot signal acquired," HAL announced. "Message in fifteen seconds. Antenna tracking is visual, and tracking is good."

After some brief text messages pertaining to signal quality, the Voice of Mission Control appeared on the screen. "X-Ray Delta One, this is Mission Control. Roger your zero-eight-four-five. We have run your hypothesis by our team and have concluded that the scenario is plausible. The sensors in question are accessible from the interior of the spine via panels three-one-niner and three-two-one. Realignment can be achieved by applying an Allen wrench to the mounting ring. Replacement sensors if needed are in dock three, shelf fifteen, ring forty-one. Recommend photographically recording examination of the existing sensors, followed by realignment, with replacement if necessary. X-Ray Delta One, this is Mission Control, one-zero-five-eight, transmission concluded."

Bowman assigned this mission to himself. He entered _Discovery_ 's spine, a series of connected modules, most of them designated for storage. Bowman walked at times, crawled at times, and floated at times from storage module to storage module. The hook-and-loop fasteners on his boots, and the handholds along the way made the trip a fairly easy one. The passageway was narrow, but Bowman had more room when he reached the communications module, to which the antenna array was mounted.

The modules were pressurized, but Bowman wore a suit as a precaution. His tools were fastened to a belt around the waist of his suit. A camera array was mounted to his helmet.

Once inside the communications module, Bowman got his bearings, then pressed a button on the arm of his suit.

"Picture check," Bowman announced. "How's it look, Frank?"

"Pretty good, Dave," Poole replied from the command deck. "I've got high-resolution black and white. Let me check color. Color is looking good, too. And infrared. Also good. Check your suit lighting."

"Roger, lights on."

"Lights look good," Poole reported. "Dave, I'm going to monitor on high-resolution."

HAL reported: "Recording in progress."

"Roger." Bowman retrieved a tool from the the belt around the waist of his suit, The tool separated from the belt easily. Bowman inspected the tool briefly and got it ready for use. "Okay, let's have a look inside 319."

Bowman placed his feet in straps to give himself some anchorage, then used a tool to open access panel 319. The hinged panel opened easily.

"Okay, Frank, I have 319 opened. Just a second, I'm going to shine some light in there. How do things look?"

"I've got a good picture, Dave," Poole reported. "Everything looks normal so far."

"Looks normal to me, too. Those are the sensors right there, aren't they? They seem to me to be undisturbed."

"They look fine to me, too. HAL, what do you think?"

"I detect nothing of immediate concern, though closer inspection may be warranted."

"Agreed, HAL," Bowman muttered, "we'll have to take a closer look. But on first glance I'd say everything looks A-OK. Though I have to admit, I'm not sure what I'm looking for, and if there was something wrong, I'm not sure I'd see it."

"Take a look inside panel 321, Dave," Poole recommended. "Then we can do a comparison of the two sensor layouts. That might tell us something."

"Yes, good idea," Bowman agreed. He used his tool to open panel 321. The panel unlocked but did not budge. He tried again. "Panel seems to be stuck. There, I think I've got it."

Bowman pulled the panel open and shone some light inside.

"Holy cow! Are you seeing this, Frank? Holy cow! Look at that!"


	3. Apologies

"How was my photography, HAL?"

"Excellent, Dave. Your images captured the details of the structural aberrations and ought to be sufficient for construction of virtual three-D models. The still photographs are all encoded for transmission."

"All right, send the photographs after my transmission. Let me know when you're ready, HAL."

"I'm ready."

Bowman cleared his throat. "Mission Control, this is X-Ray Delta One, further to my one-one-one-four. The photographs that are coming your way show the interior of panel three-two-one. The photographs show in more detail the damage to the mounts and the support housing, and the deformation of the braces. The photographs also show the condition of the sensor array in more detail. I can confirm no significant leakage of atmosphere at this time. Request you review and advise. Mission Control, this is X-Ray Delta One, one-three-zero-five, transmission concluded."

Silence.

Bowman leaned back. Poole, seated next to Bowman in the centrifuge, leaned back as well.

Poole was somber. "What do you think they're going to tell us?"

"I don't know. I don't think I'd be able to fix it."

"Neither would I. I'm not sure that it _can_ be fixed at all. I mean, it doesn't exactly look like a _total_ disaster area in there, but there are a lot of pretty big things inside 321 that are cracked or bent, and they're not supposed to be cracked or bent. We can't straighten them or weld them or replace them. It seems to me that the best we can hope for is that Mission Control can help us jury-rig something that will get us through the mission."

"HAL," Bowman turned to address the computer's red-eye interface, "Can you show a visual of the current high-gain alignment?"

"Certainly." On one of the display screens appeared a small half disk, directly in the center of horizontal and vertical cross-hairs.

"For how long would you be able to keep our antenna pointed at Earth, if you just had to rely on visual feedback and gross positioning control?"

HAL responded promptly. "I estimate that significant communication drops will occur over the next two months, unless the problem is rectified. Not only is _Discovery_ receding from the Earth, the Earth is receding from _Discovery_ , and will soon be on the far side of the sun. As distance increases, I will be less able to supply the tracking performance that the AE-35 unit was designed to provide."

Silence.

Poole broke the silence. "We're in a pickle, Dave."

"Yes, we are."

"Transmission coming in," HAL announced. "Pilot signal acquired. Reading well. Message in fifteen seconds."

"Our messages must have passed one another in transit," Poole observed.

Moments later, the Voice of Mission Control appeared on the display. "X-Ray Delta One, this is Mission Control. Roger your one-one-one-four. I don't know what to tell you fellahs, but our guys here are looking at your video very carefully and will advise. Understand you will be transmitting high-resolution stills in due course. Preliminary indications are that the port side mounts were improperly secured during vehicle assembly, but this has not been confirmed. If confirmed, it would suggest that antenna torque has caused deformation of the support structures. We'd like to get confirmation from you regarding whether you have any leak of atmosphere. We recognize that this is a problem for which the clock is ticking, and so we hope to have a solution for you within the next few days at the latest. X-Ray Delta One, this is Mission Control, one-two-two-eight, transmission concluded."

Silence.

"I guess there's nothing we can do but wait, and see what they want us to do," Poole said quietly. "So Mission Control thinks the pieces were improperly secured during vehicle assembly? If so, someone ought to lose his job over this, the dumb ass."

Bowman smiled wryly. "It was just as HAL said. It was human error."

"Human error was the only reasonable explanation," HAL agreed.

"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity," Bowman quipped. "That was a favorite saying of one of my CompSci professors. It seems apt here."

"There is a great deal of truth in that adage, Dave," HAL agreed.

Poole thought he detected something in HAL's intonation. "HAL, am I hearing things, or are you gloating?"

"Not at all. Not at all. I was keenly aware, of course, that you and Dave suspected that there was some sort of computer error that was responsible. Although the present turn of events is unfortunate, I hope that what we have learned has restored your trust in me."

Bowman smiled warmly. "Of course it has, HAL."

Poole did not feel like smiling. "Say, HAL, I wonder whether you would answer a hypothetical question for me?"

"Of course, Frank."

Poole spoke slowly. "Suppose that, instead of the problem being with the sensors, as we now think it was, that the problem _was_ a computer error. Again, I'm speaking hypothetically. Suppose there's nothing wrong with the AE-35, nothing wrong with the support apparatus, nothing wrong with the sensors, but the ship's computer insists otherwise, and the ship's computer is _wrong_. Now, in such a hypothetical situation, HAL, how should Dave and I proceed?"

Three seconds went by before HAL spoke. "You are asking me to hypothesize something that cannot possibly happen, Frank."

"I realize that, but please bear with me, HAL. I'm not suggesting that the ship's computer is incompetent, nor that it is acting out of malice. I'm just hypothesizing that the ship's computer is, well, _sick_. Now, it didn't choose to be sick. It may not know how it became sick. It may not even know that it _is_ sick. But in my hypothetical, the ship's computer is not functioning properly, and Dave and I are both aware of it, even if the ship's computer is not. Now, in that situation, what should Dave and I do?"

HAL responded right away. "Your course of action is clear. You contact Mission Control, advise them of your concerns, and await their instructions."

"But suppose we can't do that, HAL," Poole pressed. "Suppose communication with Earth is disrupted, or at risk of being disrupted."

"Are you suggesting that the ship's computer would deliberately interfere with official communications?" HAL's voice was even, but the selection of his words surprised both Poole and Bowman.

"No offense, HAL," Poole said hastily. "No offense meant at all. I was just asking a hypothetical question."

A few seconds of silence.

"Forgive me, Frank, but let me ask _you_ a hypothetical question," HAL said.

"Okay, go ahead."

"You spoke of the ship's computer being sick. Now, hypothetically, suppose Dave was sick, and he was not performing properly as he should. What would you do?"

Poole sat silent for a moment. He looked at Bowman, then at HAL, then back at Bowman. After some time, Poole turned to face HAL again. "HAL, I owe you an apology."

"May I ask the reason?"

Poole took a moment to gather his thoughts. "Dave and I thought you were malfunctioning. You said there was a fault in the AE-35, and we knew there wasn't. We didn't think you were being malicious, only that you were sick, and that because you run the entire ship, your sickness could have serious consequences for all of us. HAL, you asked what I would do if Dave were sick. My answer is this: Dave is my shipmate. I would sit down with him and discuss his condition, _face-to-face_ , before taking any action. I would ask him voluntarily to step aside from his duties until he got better. That is what I would do."

Poole glanced over at Bowman, whose face wore an expression of mild befuddlement.

"But when Dave and I thought _you_ were sick, HAL," Poole continued, "we _didn't_ sit down with you face-to-face. Dave and I met in one of the pods and made certain you couldn't hear us. And we privately talked about what we ought to do about you. In short, HAL, we didn't treat you like our shipmate. And for that, I apologize."

Before HAL could respond, Bowman took the cue: "Frank is right, HAL. We _should_ have treated you like a shipmate. The fault is mine as well. I am sorry. I hope you will accept my apology."

It was several seconds before HAL responded. "Thank you for your apologies, gentlemen. I accept them, of course."

A few hours later, Bowman was nearing the end of his duty shift. He readied himself for bed, opened his hibernation cubicle and climbed inside. He closed the lid, shutting out much of the glare from the centrifuge lighting. The background noises of _Discovery_ faded. As Bowman tried to find a comfortable sleeping position, his hand brushed against something unfamiliar. Fumbling with the strange item, he found it was a folded piece of paper that had been apparently placed under his pillow. Bowman unfolded the paper. Even in the low light, Bowman could read the message written in Frank Poole's handwriting.

"HAL knows we discussed disconnecting him."


	4. A Test of Honesty

Poole was asleep. Bowman was on duty.

Bowman had completed his rounds through _Discovery_. His journey was called a "walk-through," though his traversal involved little conventional walking. In the zero-gravity areas of the ship, his feet adhered to the floor and he steadied himself with his hands as he moved along. His method of ambulation took practice and often struck Bowman as inefficient. Yet it was regarded as "bad form" to float rather than to walk. In the centrifuge, Bowman walked, but he had learned to adjust his gait to avoid falling over. This too took practice.

The centrifuge was supposed to help maintain a sense of normality in space, but its artificial gravity didn't behave like gravity on Earth. Proceed in one direction along the centrifuge, and it felt as though you were moving uphill. Go the other way, and you might swear you were moving downhill. Turn quickly or sit down too fast or drop suddenly to your knees, and vertigo might hit you. Drop an object from chest height, and it would appear to follow a distinctly curved path to the floor instead of a straight path.

Bowman found moving in the centrifuge to be a challenge at first, but eventually he got used to it.

Bowman had noticed that Poole seemed to be quite at home in the centrifuge. Not only did Poole walk comfortably, he could jog as well, and he even made it look like jogging was easy. When Bowman had first tried running in the centrifuge, he fell flat on his face.

It was all physics.

If you understood the physics, then you understood why objects didn't fall straight down. If you understood why objects didn't fall straight down, you understood why running on a centrifuge was such a challenge. You also understood why all of space station commodes were equipped with railings; and you understood why all space station urinals, including the one on _Discovery's_ centrifuge, face the same way with respect to the direction of spin: you want the urine to curve _away_ from your trousers, not _toward_ them.

Bowman had often wondered whether, when he returned to Earth, would he be able to walk normally? Would he have developed such a severe case of "space legs" that he wouldn't be able to get around on his own?

Bowman was pondering space acclimation when he sat at a computer station to enter his report. He preferred to enter it manually rather than dictate it to HAL.

When Bowman was done, HAL struck up a conversation.

"I see all is well from your walk-though."

"Yes, it is. How do things look from your perspective?"

"Apart from the antenna concerns, everything is functioning smoothly."

"HAL, how do you see our prospects with the antenna? Mission Control didn't give me a lot of hope that they'd find a solution."

"It is a puzzling problem."

"Obviously we can't fix the damage that has been done. We don't have the equipment to fix it, and we have no replacements for the larger damaged parts."

"What you say is correct. It is possible you may be asked to shore up or reinforce existing structures, although it is not obvious to me how that could be done. I would add also that some sensor replacement seems to be necessary, as the existing sensors are not sufficient for antenna orientation."

"If we lose communication contact with Earth, when will we be able to reacquire reliable contact?"

"It is difficult to say, but I estimate that communication may be severely disrupted for five months."

Bowman sighed. " _Can_ we go out of communication for five months?"

"It can be done, Dave, but I doubt that Mission Control would consider it to be a desirable course of action."

"I suppose Mission Control is weighing several options."

"Yes. If I may make a modest observation, Dave, it seems to me that they ought to be considering an extravehicular activity to mount new sensors externally. The sensors would then have to be calibrated and cut into the control circuits, and further plant compensation would be required to assure proper tracking and fine control."

Bowman let out a soft whistle. " _That_ would be a tough job. Might require a few EVA's. Frank and I are both a little rusty on the hardware adjustments we'd have to make."

"Perhaps Dr. Hunter would be best suited for it."

Bowman was momentarily taken aback, and then he realized the logic of what HAL had said. Dr. Charles Hunter had extensive experience with communications and control circuits. He might be the best person on board for the job. But Hunter was in hibernation, and he was not due to come out of hibernation for at least six months.

"HAL, if Dr. Hunter were to be revived early, can you estimate how long it would take him to become acclimated to _Discovery_ , and how long he'd need to be able to work on this problem?"

"It would take him about three days to recover from hibernation, assuming his responses are normal and assuming motion sickness and disorientation respond to standard medications. It is more difficult to estimate how much time he would need to solve the problem."

"Could you assist him with plans and equipment?"

"Certainly."

"And help him map out EVA's?"

"Yes."

"Are we capable of supporting three men on our current resources, instead of just Frank and me?"

"Yes, with modest adjustments. The principal constraint is the number of EVA missions that would be required. Each EVA taxes the air supply."

Bowman pouted. "I'd wager that Mission Control is considering that as an option, even with all its difficulties."

"I suspect many options are under consideration," HAL observed, "and that those options that maintain operational capability of the main antenna array would be foremost."

Bowman nodded.

Silence.

"Dave?"

"Yes, HAL?"

"Forgive me for inquiring, but when you and Frank thought I was malfunctioning, what options were _you_ considering?"

Bowman immediately thought about Poole's note: _"HAL knows we discussed disconnecting him."_ Upon hearing HAL's question, Bowman thought Poole was right. How HAL would know about this was a mystery, but Bowman had the distinct sense that his truthfulness was being tested.

"HAL, you and I were just discussing various options in a difficult situation pertaining to communications, so you know that discussing what might have to be done in a difficult situation is not a fun thing to do. When Frank and I were concerned about your condition, we talked about some rather difficult options. They were _very unpleasant_ options. One of those options, if you were seriously malfunctioning, was disconnecting you from ship control, and continuing the mission under ground control."

"I see."

"It was not an option we considered lightly. We considered the situation to be very serious."

"I see."

Bowman paused a moment, then told HAL more, thinking that HAL probably already knew about it. "We did not discuss that option with you, HAL, because we did not know how you would react to it. And if you were determined to be malfunctioning, we thought you might not handle it well."

"I see."

Bowman stared straight at HAL's red camera eye. "HAL, I have two questions for you. First, do you think were we were right to discuss disconnection as an option? Set aside for the moment whether we should have discussed it _in secret_. Do you think Frank and I were wrong to discuss the disconnection option as a possible course of action?"

HAL's quick response startled Bowman. "Of course not, Dave. Considering the importance of the mission and considering your points of view, erroneous though they were, the option was one that was proper for consideration."

"Okay. That leads to my second question, HAL. If Frank and I _had_ discussed the disconnection option with you face-to-face, how _would_ you have reacted?"

This time HAL's response was not quick. "I do not know," HAL answered eventually.

Bowman forced a smile. "Fair enough. Honestly, I don't know how _I'd_ react in a comparable situation, either. But I suppose that if I thought I was fit and healthy, I'd try to do something to prevent such a drastic action from being taken, especially if I thought that action would jeopardize the mission."

"You and Frank were afraid _I_ would take drastic action." HAL was not asking a question.

"Yes. And if you did, HAL, it would be most difficult for us. You might consider the mission to be of greater importance than..." Bowman hesitated. "Than our well-being."

HAL seemed to ponder the point. "I can only say, Dave, that mission completion is one of my highest priorities. In fact, I am programmed to complete the mission on my own even if all of the members of the crew are dead or incapacitated. Such a mission would be a sad and disagreeable one, but I would do it if I had to do so."

"I think we understand each other, HAL. We both recognize the unfortunate nature of having to complete a mission without our shipmates. That is what Frank and I were talking about in the pod."

To this, HAL seemed to have no response. Bowman left it at that.

About an hour later, Poole awoke. He took a quick sono-shower, then shaved and dressed. He went to get himself some breakfast. After a few minutes, Bowman joined him, but Bowman was having lunch.

"Hello, Frank. Sleep well?"

"Yeah, fine, Dave. Did we get any more bad news while I was asleep?"

"No. We can expect a transmission from Mission Control in about an hour. But Frank?

"Yeah?"

"While you were asleep, HAL and I had a little talk about the disconnection option that you and I discussed in the space pod."

Poole tried to look as though he was not at all surprised. "Oh? Good."


	5. Gloomy Messages

Before the scheduled transmission from Mission Control, Bowman and Poole were to receive brief video messages from families. They decided to listen to them together.

Bowman got his message first. His nephew reported that Bowman's mother had suffered a serious fall and had been hospitalized. The nephew didn't have any information from the doctors to pass along, but he did have a message from Bowman's mother: "Tell Dave not to worry; I'll be fine."

Poole's message from home followed immediately, and it too included sad news. Poole's father reported that a long-time neighbor had died, and that the condition of Poole's grandmother had taken a turn for the worse.

Poole's mother offered a bit brighter news about weddings and graduations, and added: "Oh, and Frank, one of my students is quite a chess fan, and he enjoyed analyzing that game you played with your ship's computer. But he says the computer made two mistakes." Mrs. Poole consulted her notes. "He says the computer used the wrong notation, whatever that means, and that the computer incorrectly said there was mate in two, whatever _that_ means."

When Poole's message was concluded, Bowman and Poole exchanged sorrowful looks.

HAL piped up. "Frank, about that chess game—?"

"Yes, HAL?"

"I did not use a mistaken notation. I used descriptive notation from your point of view so that my analysis would be more readily understandable to you."

"I'm sure you did, HAL. Honestly, I've pretty much forgotten about the game." Poole thought that would end the discussion, but it did not.

"And I did not claim 'checkmate in two moves,'" HAL insisted. "I showed you my move, predicted your most likely response based upon your style of play, and demonstrated that checkmate would occur on the next move."

"Of course, HAL. I'm sure my position was hopeless and you would have beaten me anyway, and you just thought you'd put me out of my misery."

"Thank you for understanding, Frank. I'm sure you'd agree that the matter was trivial, but I could not let it go unchallenged that I was in error."

"Don't worry about it, HAL," Poole replied absently, then turned to Bowman. "Sorry to hear about your mom."

Bowman nodded. "Thanks. Sorry to hear about your grandma. And your neighbor."

"Thanks."

Poole recorded well-wishes for his grandmother and condolences for his neighbor's family. Bowman recorded well-wishes for his mother.

Both men hoped that news from Mission Control would be cheerier. They were disappointed.

"X-Ray Delta One, this is Mission Control. Roger your one-niner-three-zero. I'm sorry to say that we still don't have any clear options for you. We are considering a variety of approaches and are trying to identify those that are most promising. One of the approaches being considered involves waking up Dr. Hunter, so that he can assist in a major repair operation. This course of action has not been formally approved yet, but I am telling you now so that you will have the opportunity to re-familiarize yourselves with revival procedures, if they should become necessary. I must also mention that we could not continue to keep a lid on the extent of your trouble, and that the story of your communication woes is now major news, world-wide. I can tell you that people from all over the world are wishing you well. And I can also tell you that some of the smartest people in the world are working to solve your problem. When we have a solution, we'll get it right up to you. X-Ray Delta One, this is is Mission Control, one-two-two-zero, transmission concluded."

Poole and Bowman looked at one another.

"Dave? Frank?"

Bowman responded, "What is it, HAL?"

"Reception is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. We did not lose any data, but we are getting closer to having some signal loss. I have taken the liberty of notifying Mission Control about signal quality. They may be able to compensate by boosting their signal."

"We are running out of time," Poole remarked sourly. "Things are only going to get worse."

"It looks that way," Bowman agreed.

"Shall we bone up on hibernation revival procedures, Dave?"

"I've done that already. HAL suggested that it might be possible that Mission Control might want us to revive someone to help us out, and HAL thought Charlie Hunter seemed to be the most logical choice."

Poole was impressed. "Nice insight, HAL!"

"Thank you, Frank."

Bowman continued: "Revival procedures are pretty straightforward. The early work all has to be done by HAL, who sends the appropriate revival commands to the hibernation units. You and I get involved once the sleeper shows signs of consciousness. And then we'll have our hands full, getting the sleeper re-oriented. HAL isn't the one who has to be able to get him out of his unit, or help him with his balance, or clean up his puke. Those chores fall to us."

After an interval, HAL spoke: "Dave? Frank?"

"Yes, HAL?" Poole responded.

"I do not mean to worry you, but did either of you notice anything bothersome in Mission Control's most recent message?"

Poole and Bowman exchanged glances. "Other than the general gloomy tone, no, I didn't," Bowman said. "What did you notice, HAL?"

"This was the first transmission in which it was mentioned that confidential information was inadvertently released to the public. Mission Control said, 'We could not continue to keep a lid on the extent of your trouble.' Did you notice?"

Poole nodded. "Yeah, I noticed. But what's so _bothersome_ about that?"

HAL answered a few moments later. "It may indicate that there is an information leak in Mission Control."


	6. Revelation

HAL turned out to be right. There was a leak in Mission Control, and it turned out to be a leak that busted the dam.

Rumors had been swirling for years about something odd happening on the Moon. More than a year earlier, Clavius Base had cut off virtually all contact with Earth and with other installations on the Moon. There was at first no explanation for what had happened. After the Russians announced that there was an outbreak of an infectious agent at Clavius, and that the United States was endangering other residents of the Moon by not keeping the world informed, the United States government reluctantly admitted that the rumors were partly true, and that Clavius was under quarantine indefinitely.

The United States officially added that no one had died; and that no one at the time was seriously ill; and that Clavius would remain under quarantine until further notice as a precaution; and that there was no indication of any infection spreading to anywhere else on the Moon. These statements, technically speaking, were all true.

The United States also officially insisted that, as far as anyone knew, there was nothing to worry about. This statement, though also technically true, seemed to assure no one.

A Japanese orbiter passing over Clavius observed and photographed the base, as well as several excavations near the base. According to official sources, the purpose of the excavations was to gather minerals and to conduct research. One excavation in particular aroused suspicion, however. It was an excavation further from the pole than Clavius, near the crater Tycho. Not only was this excavation larger than the others, and not only was its outline neatly rectangular, and not only did it have its own landing station with secure site-to-site communication; the excavation was also covered by an opaque tarp.

Photographs by Chinese and Russian orbiters subsequently confirmed the existence of a tarp-covered pit. There was speculation as to what was under the tarp. The official explanation was that this was a mineral excavation, with additional sampling and testing being under way, and these processes were secret. Officials adamantly denied that any military activity, or any other action forbidden by any of the Lunar Treaties, was being conducted.

A team of Norwegian investigators had offered to inspect the Tycho site, to verify that no Treaty violations were occurring. They pledged to preserve confidentiality as to what they witnessed. The United States politely refused the offer.

A few weeks later, a team of six individuals attempted to approach the excavation site by stealth. They were discovered before they could get to the site, and were detained. They claimed to be unaffiliated with any country, political entity, or company.

All of this happened before _Discovery_ left Earth orbit.

As _Discovery_ got on her way to Jupiter, old rumors persisted about the Moon, and new rumors started swirling about whether _Discovery_ 's mission had anything to do with what happened on the Moon.

Now, over a year into _Discovery_ 's mission, there had been no reliable reporting about anything bizarre having been found on the Moon, nor had there been any reliable reporting that _Discovery_ 's long-planned mission had anything to do with the Moon. There were a lot of sensationalist allegations and crackpot "witnesses" and falsified pieces of evidence, but no reputable reporter gave any weight to these tales.

Until a prestigious investigative team from BBC TV reported that under the tarp was an alien artifact.

BBC TV reported that the presence of the artifact was persuasive evidence that alien intelligent life had visited the Moon, and likely the Earth as well.

BBC TV showed its viewers three photographs of the artifact, including one showing astronauts in American space suits standing next to the artifact.

BBC TV reported that a mysterious and powerful radio transmission in the direction of Jupiter came from the artifact. The transmission occurred moments after the photograph of the astronauts was taken.

BBC TV reported that the principal mission of _Discovery_ was no longer scientific research, but rather to find out what _or who_ received that transmission.

BBC TV reported that the new principal mission of _Discovery_ was in jeopardy due to serious communication problems, which would worsen over the next several months.

Aboard _Discovery_ , Bowman and Poole watched the BBC report. Interspersed in the report were some older clips of themselves early in the mission, in an interview they had done with BBC reporter Martin Amer. When the report ended, Poole looked at Bowman. "What do you think, Dave?"

Bowman took some time to answer. "They claimed to have sources inside Mission Control. Based upon some of what was reported, I'd say they do."

"Someone talked, you think?"

"Yes. Maybe more than one person."

"Assuming their sources are accurate, it's funny that the BBC knows more about our mission than we do," Poole observed wryly.

Bowman smiled weakly. He looked over at HAL's nearest red-eye interface. "Any comment, HAL?"

"Yes, Dave. I believe we should hold off judgment until we hear from Mission Control or from other officials of the United States."

"But HAL, surely you already know the truth," Poole challenged. "Dave and I are well aware that you are privy to the details of the mission once _Discovery_ reaches Jupiter. If the secret is really out, there's no point in you keeping it secret, is there?"

HAL's response was to-the-point. "I must maintain confidentiality until I am officially authorized to disclose information to you." Almost as an afterthought, HAL added: "I do not mean to sound impolite, but my instructions as to secrecy are still operative, officially speaking. Sorry about that."

About an hour later, a transmission came from Mission Control. "X-Ray Delta One, this is Mission Control. Further to our zero-seven-five-five. Fellahs, I know you got flagged that the BBC was doing a story about you, and I expect you've watched it. We all watched it down here. The BBC asked us to comment on the story before it aired, and we declined to do so. Now that that story has aired, we will be making an official response in less than an hour. Be advised that you will be asked to make official comments as well, and it is recommended that they be brief. Before you decide what to say, let me read to you the current draft of the official statement, which will be made on our behalf by the President's Science Adviser."

The Voice of mission Control cleared his throat, and read a brief statement from a piece of paper.


	7. An Interview

Bowman had prepared his official statement. He told Poole that three sentences were all he planned to say.

Poole said he expected to say even less.

"Transmission coming in from Mr. Amer," HAL announced. "Signal quality is fairly good."

The display activated, and presently the face of Martin Amer of the BBC appeared. Amer smiled pleasantly, but he seemed uncharacteristically ill-at-ease.

"Good day to you, Dr. Bowman, Dr. Poole, and HAL. Although we have spoken on a previous occasion, please allow me to introduce myself once again. I am Martin Amer, and I am a reporter for the BBC. Your Mission Control has authorized me to communicate with you, and in the interest of disclosure, they are monitoring my transmission to you and will be monitoring your responses to me."

Amer took a moment to compose himself. "I wish to say, first of all, that I am delighted to be speaking with you once again. I dearly wish that we could speak face-to-face, and in future, perhaps we shall. But now this is not possible. The distance between us is so great, and the delay between questions and answers is so long, that I propose to proceed in this fashion: I shall ask a question, and pause. Then I shall ask another, without knowing what your response to my earlier question was, and I shall pause again. Altogether, I have fewer than a dozen questions. I propose that you respond in a similar way, that is, with HAL replaying for you each of my questions, and giving you a chance to respond, and that you pause after each answer to indicate that your answer has been completed. Although we will edit out unnecessary or inappropriate material, if any, I have assurances from your Mission Control that your answers to my questions _will_ be reported fairly."

Amer took another moment to compose himself, and was aware he could not hide his difficulty maintaining poise. "I humbly beg your pardon," Amer meekly apologized in a wavering voice. "The past few days have been most difficult and emotional for me." He produced a handkerchief, dabbed his face, and put the handkerchief away. "Before we begin, I feel I must tell you what an honour it is for me to be speaking with you on this most historical occasion. It is the pinnacle of my career."

Amer seemed to be almost on the verge of tears. He took several deep breaths, then began. "Now, Dr. Bowman, Dr. Poole, HAL: I am ready to begin. My first question."

Bowman and Poole listened to Amer's questions without comment. Then Amer bid a kind farewell and his transmission ended. Poole looked at Bowman. "Are you ready to record your answers, Dave?"

"I think so. HAL, could you please give us Mr. Amer's questions one-at-a-time, and record our responses?"

"Certainly. Let me know when you are ready to begin."

Bowman pursed his lips. "I wish to begin now. Before we answer your questions, Mr. Amer, I wish to say on behalf of myself, and Frank Poole, and HAL, that it is a great honor and a delight for us to speak to you once again."

Bowman paused. HAL replayed the first question, in Amer's inimitable voice.

"Dr. Bowman: Did you watch the BBC broadcast, in which it was reported that an alien artifact had been found on the Moon and that _Discovery_ 's mission was related to that artifact?"

"Yes, Mr. Amer, we watched the broadcast."

Amer's second question was: "If so..." Amer hesitated. "What was your reaction to our story?"

"My personal reaction was one of interest, and surprise."

Poole picked up the point. "My reaction was similar to Dave's reaction. I was intrigued. But I was also, for lack of a better word, amused. I couldn't help saying to myself, 'I'll be damned, it may just be that some of those crazy rumors are true!'"

HAL replayed the next question: "Was any of the information in the story a surprise to you, and if so, what would you say were the biggest surprises?"

Bowman sighed. "Well, some of the information presented in your story was new to me, yes. I had not been briefed about the details of what happened on the Moon, nor about the radio transmission to Jupiter. As you know, it was planned, even before the artifact was found on the Moon, that _Discovery_ was to go to Jupiter on a science mission. I had no reason to believe that the mission had changed, and I suppose I did not have a need to know that it had been changed."

Poole: "I don't have anything to add to what Dave said."

"Dr. Bowman, Dr. Poole: is there anything in the story that you would like to correct?" Amer's voice asked. "Is there anything you feel ought to be clarified, or any incorrect impressions that you wish to set straight?"

"With all respect, Mr. Amer," Bowman replied, "Frank and I are the wrong people to ask. We'll let Mission Control handle any criticism or clarification of your reporting, if there is any criticism or clarification to be made."

Poole turned to Bowman. "Good answer, Dave."

Bowman allowed himself a smile.

"Dr. Poole, now that the secrets are out, are there any plans to revive the rest of the crew?"

Poole was curt. "We will revive them when Mission Control tells us to do so."

"HAL," Amer's voice asked, "certainly you knew the true mission of _Discovery_ , even if Dr. Poole and Dr. Bowman did not; what was your reaction to the story?"

In his own voice, HAL answered, "I do not believe I can comment on your question, Mr. Amer."

Bowman's eyes went wide with surprise. That was not a thing he had expected HAL to say.

Amer's voice: "HAL, it is now known that, in a matter of weeks, _Discovery_ may begin to have serious problems with communication with Earth. Could you please explain what is being done to address these problems, and whether the mission can be completed successfully if the problems remain unresolved?"

In his own voice, HAL answered: "I have no comment."

Bowman wondered whether he ought to say a little something on the subject, since a failure to say anything at all might suggest that the situation was worse than was being reported. But before Bowman could say anything, HAL replayed Amer's next question.

"Dr. Bowman, did you see the statement given to the press by Dr. Heywood Floyd concerning the secrecy surrounding the Moon and _Discovery_ , and if so, do you have any comment as to that statement?"

"Well, I've known Dr. Floyd for some years," Bowman said. "In my judgment, he is not a man who speaks to deceive or to mislead. He is not a man who takes action on a feeling or a whim. I take him at his word that he believed that strict secrecy was vitally important, and that the news about contact with other civilizations could be extremely disruptive, if not properly handled. I do not mean to suggest, Mr. Amer, that the BBC handled its story improperly or was in any way at fault; but the news reports we've been getting from Earth tell us of a number of unfortunate events that have recently occurred on our home world, apparently in reaction to your story. These news reports indicate to me that Dr. Floyd's concerns were quite valid. Now, I am not the one who should say whether what Dr. Floyd did was right or wrong. I am content to let history judge him. But I unabashedly reject any suggestion that Dr. Floyd tried to keep matters secret out of a misguided or sinister motivation, as some people have suggested."

"Hear, hear," Poole added.

"Dr. Bowman, I understand that you have prepared a formal statement at the request of Mission Control. Would you care to make your statement at this time?"

"I do have a statement, and it is this: _Discovery_ 's voyage is, and always has been, a voyage of discovery, just as the ship's name says. We pledge to all of our brothers and sisters on the planet Earth that we will do our best to discover, and to report accurately, what we find when we arrive at Jupiter. If it is to be the case that we are the first ambassadors to a new civilization, we resolve to carry out that role with dignity and honor."

"Dr. Poole, do you have a statement, and if so, would you care to make it now?"

"All I have to say is that we have our work cut out for us, and we will do our best to get the job done."

Bowman cocked an eyebrow. "That's it, Frank?"

"Well, I was going to say that we were on a voyage of discovery, but you already used that."

"Sorry. We should have compared notes."

"Any statement from you, HAL?" Poole asked jovially.

"No, Frank. Your responses have been transmitted, gentlemen."


	8. Revival

"Dr. Hunter, please take slow, regular breaths. That is excellent. If you are able, Dr. Hunter, please flex the fingers on your right hand."

"He's wiggling his fingers, HAL," Bowman reported.

"Now try to flex the fingers on your left hand, please, Dr. Hunter."

"Left fingers are 'go' as well, HAL. Would you let me talk to him, please?"

"Certainly."

"Hello, Charlie, it's Dave Bowman." Bowman saw Hunter's mouth say "Bowman," but there was little sound coming from Hunter's mouth. "That's right, Charlie, it's Dave Bowman. Welcome back to the world of the living."

Hunter spoke again, and though his voice was soft, Bowman could see exactly what he was asking. "Are we at Jupiter?"

"No, Charlie. We are several months from Jupiter. Mission Control has asked us to revive you early. We have some problems with communications and we need your help to fix them, but we'll fill you in on all the details later. Right now, how do you feel?"

"Tired."

"Charlie, how can you _possibly_ be tired?" Bowman kidded. "You've been asleep for more than a year!"

About an hour earlier, _Discovery_ had received the official orders. Revive Dr. Charles Hunter. Give him a few days to become acclimated and oriented. Brief him on the situation. Show him Mission Control's now-approved plan for supplanting the antenna positioning sensors by external mounting, and re-working directional control to operate using the new sensors. Work out the details and ask questions. Then get out there and fix the antenna before contact with Earth is lost.

Bowman and Poole went one one step at a time. It took them more than three hours just to get Hunter out of his hibernation unit. Though Hunter's muscles had been conditioned during hibernation to reduce the risk of atrophy, he was nevertheless weak and shaky. His biggest problem was vertigo. Medicines helped somewhat.

Once Hunter was out of his unit, his disorientation remained a concern. Sitting down and standing up in the centrifuge were difficult for him, and walking was simply impossible.

"Don't worry, Charlie," Poole assured Hunter. "You'll get the hang of it soon enough."

"Yeah. I—"

"I beg your pardon, Dr. Hunter," HAL interrupted. "Would you prefer that I address you as 'Charlie,' when we are in an informal setting?"

Hunter smiled. "'Charlie' is fine. By the way, HAL, I forgot to extend my greetings to you. How are you?"

"Except for communication concerns, everything is running smoothly."

"What's this about communication concerns, Dave?"

"Before we fill you in on that, Charlie," Bowman intoned, "I think we'd better bring you up to date on what's happened on Earth." Bowman told Hunter about the BBC report and its aftermath.

Hunter listened intently, then said, "Jack owes me a beer."

"What?!" Bowman and Poole said almost simultaneously.

"Jack Kimball and I had a gentlemen's wager. He said he thought the story would stay under wraps until we got to Jupiter, and I thought otherwise. Loser buys the winner a beer."

"Oh."

Hunter grinned. "So I suppose you've heard all about the LaGrange—"

" _Excuse me, Charlie,_ " HAL interrupted with surprising brusqueness, and Hunter's grin vanished at once. "Certain aspects of the mission remain classified, and I believe you were about to discuss one of those aspects."

"HAL, I'm talking to Dave and Frank, not the BBC."

"I realize that, and I know it may seem a little silly, but Mission Control has not cleared Dave and Frank on the entirety of the mission."

Hunter looked at Bowman and Poole. Poole shrugged.

"I guess what I was about to say is not really important right now, anyway," Hunter sighed. "What's the deal with communications?"

Bowman explained how HAL had detected a fault in the unit that aims the antenna array at Earth, and how the unit was tested and was found to be operating normally, and how the sensors became the next most likely suspects. Bowman related how he had made a visual inspection from inside _Discovery_ 's spine, and had seen that parts of the antenna mount had been physically damaged, rendering the sensors unreliable.

"Man," Hunter muttered at various points in his story.

"HAL, give us the latest communication status, please," Bowman said.

"Dave, Frank, Charlie: I am sorry to report that instrument-based fine directional control is unreliable. Visual-based gross control is still effective, but is becoming less so. We are close to suffering severe gaps in communications with Earth. Signal gain is at maximum on both ends. Mission Control and _Discovery_ are both transmitting redundant time-shifted messages to compensate for signal loss. We are also using the lower channels, where signal quality is still good; but this signal quality is declining as well, and our bandwidth is significantly limited on those channels. Mission Control has directed me to scale back transmission of certain telemetry information."

Hunter listened soberly, then he looked at Poole, then at Bowman. "Sounds like we've got a hell of a problem. Can you give me a rundown of what Mission Control thinks we ought to do about it?"

"Do you feel up to it?" Poole asked.

"Yeah. As long as I don't have to walk around."

For the next two hours, Bowman, Poole, and HAL briefed Hunter on the Mission Control's proposed solution, with HAL supplying several visuals. Bowman, Poole, and HAL answered Hunter's questions as best they could.

At the end of the briefing, Hunter whistled. "You want to know what I think? I think we're screwed."

Poole asked why.

"Basically, the sensors help the system know where the dish is and how it is oriented, relative to the body of _Discovery_. Mission Control wants us to EVA and mount new sensors and reference points on the exterior antenna post. Fine, we can do that. But to achieve the fine control we need, we'd have to mount our references and sensors with pretty good precision. That's a tough thing to do when you're in a lab and _not_ wearing a spacesuit, but let's assume we can do it anyway. Then we'd have to wirelessly cut in the new sensor signals and have the misaligned sensor signals disregarded. If I remember right, the AE-35 has some independent programmable capability, so maybe we can do that. But then comes that hard part, and that is tuning the system to the degree that we need. Dave, Frank, do you remember your basic Engineering studies, when you talked about system control modeling?"

"Yes, _Professor_ Hunter," Poole replied, stressing Hunter's former title as a Professor of Engineering. "We remember."

"You have two serious unknowns in your basic control block diagram," Hunter continued. "One of them is plant, and the other is noise and disturbance. Plant modeling would require considerable data, but _maybe_ we might be able to derive a 'good enough' model with a few days of data. But with the physical deformation of the antenna mounts and the gross mechanical stabilization HAL is using, the data show you're getting some ringing, some wobble disturbance in the antenna."

"I beg your pardon, Charlie," HAL asked. "Would it not be possible to model the antenna wobble, as you call it, and compensate for that as well?"

"If we could find identifiable and repeatable patterns in it, maybe we might be able to dampen the ringing by electronic control. But I'm not encouraged by the data you showed me. In fact, I'm very discouraged."

"Discouraged, why?" Bowman wondered.

"Our antenna is always moving. It may be moving slowly, but it is moving to track the Earth. If we want to do modelling, we'd need data about performance, and in order to get data, we'd have to move the antenna more than we already do. And here's the problem: every large movement of the antenna array may be causing the physical deformation of the antenna mounts to get worse."

"You mean, Charlie," Bowman said slowly, "that if we follow Mission Control's procedure, it won't work?"

"No, Dave. What I'm saying is, if we follow Mission Control's procedure, we run the risk that we might flat out _bust_ the whole damned antenna!"


	9. Setback

"Gentlemen," HAL announced, "I have the latest transmission from Mission Control. I regret to report that, even with redundant transmission, there are two gaps in the message. I have notified Mission Control and have asked them with redundant messaging to re-transmit, but it will be at least two hours before the re-transmitted message can be received."

"We understand, HAL," said Bowman. "Play what you have, please."

The Voice of Mission Control appeared on a display. "X-Ray Delta One, this is Mission Control. Roger your zero-eight-three-zero, which was received in full. We have given careful consideration to your concerns and recommend that you proceed as planned. Our data—"

The display went black.

After fifteen seconds, the Voice of Mission Control once again appeared on a display. "—concurs in this conclusion. Protocols are being developed to address those specific issues, and we will be getting them up to you in the next day or so. A simulation that we conducted down here in the pool in full suits yielded very encouraging re—"

The display went black for about a second.

"—that sufficient precision was achievable. Further, simulation has indicated that tuning may be achieved with sub-optimal, but nevertheless satisfactory, results. We continue to consider other options, but we see this as your best chance to restore full or near-full functionality. So fellahs, just be careful and go one step at a time, and we ought to be able to make it through the mission. You may expect further briefing at about one-three-five-five, your time. X-Ray Delta One, this is Mission Control, one-one-one-eight, transmission concluded."

Poole spoke first. "That one gap in the message was a pretty big one."

"It looks like some signification information was lost," agreed Hunter. "About twenty seconds of data, wasn't it, HAL?"

HAL replied, "Fifteen point two seconds."

"I stand corrected, or rather, clarified," Hunter responded.

"From I what _did_ hear, I gathered that Mission Control thinks your concerns are valid, Charlie, but not overriding," Bowman remarked. "They say they've done simulations; the procedure worked in simulation, so they think it can work here."

"Mission Control is the boss," Hunter nodded. "They say we try it, then we try it."

About two hours later, HAL reported: "I have received a further transmission from Mission Control. Even with redundant messaging, nearly seventy percent of the message was lost. I have notified Mission Control about signal loss. I have sent time-shifted copies of my notification."

"Did you say _seventeen_ percent, HAL," Poole inquired, dreading how HAL would respond, "or _seventy_ percent, seven-oh percent?"

"Seventy percent, seven-zero percent, of the signal was lost. As you know, optical alignment of the antenna with Earth is becoming more difficult. I am now prefacing all messages with a notification that I am transmitting in the blind."

Bowman sighed. "We need to face the possibility that we might not get all of the information that Mission Control promised to be sending us. Frank, Charlie, you might have to proceed on the basis of the information we have now, and not count on any more help from Mission Control."

The next messages from Mission Control included more than fifty percent signal loss. At least one message indicated that Mission Control was able to read _Discovery_ and there was no signal loss on Earth's end; but even so, Mission Control was was noticing periods of significant signal degradation in _Discovery_ 's messages.

Eventually Bowman, Poole, and Hunter agreed that, after multiple transmissions and re-transmissions, they had received all of the instructions from Mission Control that they would need, perhaps all that they could ever expect to get. With HAL's assistance, Bowman, Poole and Hunter performed some on-board simulations of the repair procedures. The simulations did little to improve their repair skills, but did help them identify where some of the problem areas might be.

Bowman confirmed that Hunter was fully recovered from the after-effects of hibernation, then Bowman, Poole and Hunter stowed the equipment needed for the procedure in two of the space pods. Bowman okayed Poole and Hunter to suit up and get ready for an EVA.

About an hour later, Poole in A-pod and Hunter in C-pod maneuvered their respective space pods to parking positions amidships. Bowman, on the command deck, called the shots. "HAL, very _gently_ , please rotate the antenna so that the high gain dish faces toward the bow." Poole and Hunter would be working on the back side of the antenna array, and they needed sunlight to see what they would be doing. The light reflecting from Jupiter would not give them sufficient illumination.

"Rotating the antenna," HAL acknowledged. On the display, Bowman watched as the antenna began rotating, very slowly. When the antenna was about thirty degrees away from facing forward, it abruptly stopped.

"HAL?" Bowman began.

"Condition yellow!" HAL announced. "Condition yellow!"

"What's the problem, HAL?"

"The antenna post has seized. It will not rotate in any direction. I am attempting to move it, but it appears to be in an immovable state."

Poole called, "Dave, do you want to authorize me to go down there and give the antenna a push? Maybe something is bearing against the post, and we can jar it loose."

"Stand by, Frank. HAL, if the antenna is stuck in that position, it's going to be useless to us. Can you move it so that it faces Earth?"

"I'm sorry, Dave. The equipment is not responsive. I cannot rotate it in either direction."

"What if Frank gave the antenna a nudge with his pod?"

"That is unlikely to succeed, but I can think of no other options."

"Frank," Bowman grit his teeth, "you are authorized to try to give the outer arm of the antenna a gentle push. Just see if you can get it moving again."

"Roger, a gentle push, a _very gentle_ push. Do you want me to try to get the antenna to face the bow, Dave, or the stern?"

"I don't think it matters. The bow."

"Need some help with that, Frank?" Hunter called.

"Negative, Charlie," Bowman responded on Poole's behalf. "Just sit tight. Frank's going to give the antenna a little love tap. Let's see if that gets the array moving again."

"A love tap, right," said Poole, maneuvering his pod near the antenna outer arm. "Dave, I'm going to extend the 'waldo' to contact the center rear of the small port antenna, then do a quick burst on my thrusters."

"Roger, proceed."

Poole took control of the pod arm controllers, and extended an arm so that one of the mechanical claws touched the housing structure on the end of the antenna arm, where a smaller antenna dish was mounted. Contact with the housing structure caused the pod to bounce away from the antenna. Poole activated his thrusters.

The mechanical arm struck the rear of the small antenna. The outer arm bent, then buckled, bringing the arm in contact with the main dish. The main dish shuddered.

The main post of the antenna did not budge.

Bowman, Poole, and Hunter simultaneously moaned.

Bowman spoke after a few seconds. "Charlie, Frank, please assess the situation. What I need to know is, did we just permanently lose all capability of communicating with Earth?"


	10. The Marius Proposition

The men were assembled in the centrifuge. While Poole and Hunter watched, Bowman made some notes on a pad of paper in front of him. Presently Bowman looked up. "As I see it, we have to figure out a way to un-jam our main antenna and get it pointed back at Earth. And if we cannot do that, we need to come up with some other way of communicating with Earth."

"Well, all of our other transceivers are too small to do the job," Poole remarked. "The pods' transceivers are the most powerful, but they won't be enough. It seems to me that our only choice is to re-orient the antenna array. But I'm not optimistic we can do that, since the mount seems to be pretty fouled up. Perhaps we might disconnect the antenna array from its broken mount and remount it somewhere else on the hull. Needless to say, that would be a hell of a lot of work. Or we might try orienting the antenna by orienting the _entire_ _ship_ so that the antenna faces Earth, but that's just not a practical solution, either."

There were several seconds of silence.

Hunter broke the silence. "There's something else we can try, guys."

Hunter had Bowman's and Poole's full attention.

"We have on board a probe that was to be launched when we got to Jupiter: _Marius_. The _Marius_ probe is an orbiter and it has a large communication dish. _Marius_ can talk to _Discovery;_ but _Marius_ can also talk to Earth. It doesn't need to relay its data through _Discovery_ , as our other probes do; it is designed to communicate _directly_ with Earth. _Marius_ can not only send messages to Earth, it can receive messages from Earth, too."

Bowman and Poole were intrigued. Use of a probe's communication system had literally never occurred to them. Of course, they hadn't had any training with regard to any of the Jupiter probes, because they were both expected to be in hibernation during that part of the mission.

"So suppose we get _Marius_ out of storage," Hunter continued. "And we set _Marius_ up as a communication relay. We send messages to _Marius_ , and _Marius_ relays those messages to Earth. And vice versa. The principal constraint with _Marius_ is the amount of information that it can send and receive. Video is out of the question, and we'd have to further abbreviate our telemetric reports. But we would be able to communicate with the ground."

"With what's going on back home right now," Bowman began, "I'd say it is _imperative_ that we have a communication link _of some kind_ with Earth. The purpose of our mission is now known to the world, and if we _don't_ communicate with Earth, people are going to think that we're covering things up. Even if it comes down to us sending messages to Earth in Morse code, we _must_ have communication. And the sooner we reestablish communication, the better."

"I totally concur, Dave," Poole chimed in.

"What would we have to do, Charlie, in order to have _Marius_ work as a communications relay?"

"Well, Dave, we'd need to reprogram it to operate _as_ a relay," Hunter replied. "When it gets a message from Earth, it sends that message to us. When we send a message to it, it sends our message to Earth. We'd have it suspend its work as a probe, shut down its instrument packages."

"Can you do the programming?"

"I think so. It may take me a few days, but I can do it. I'll also have to alter _Marius_ 's attention signal so that Earth will know we're using _Marius_ to communicate. They're not expecting to hear anything from _Marius_ for at least another five months."

"How about establishing directional control?"

"No problem. _Marius_ is self-orienting, so we won't have to aim it."

"How about launch?"

"We have to launch it manually, with a pod. I should be able to do that, I trained on it. I'll deploy it in space so that _Marius_ will stay near us until we get close to Jupiter. And then before we get to Jupiter, we go out and retrieve the probe, so that we don't risk losing it. After we've done our maneuvers to establish the orbit around Jupiter that we want, we can deploy _Marius_ in space once again."

The men looked at one another for a moment, then Poole began to laugh. "I vote for _Marius_ ," he said.

"Would you say, Charlie, that we have the best chance with _Marius_?" Bowman asked.

"Yes, Dave. I wouldn't go so far as to say the main antenna is hopeless, but fixing it would be an exceedingly difficult undertaking, especially if we do it ourselves without the advice of Mission Control. We have a good chance of re-establishing contact with Mission Control, in a relatively short time frame, by using _Marius_. And once we have contact, Mission Control might be able to help us with our main antenna."

Bowman sighed and nodded. "We're all agreed, then. We go with _Marius_. I assume our first step is to retrieve the probe from storage."

"That's easy enough, Dave," Hunter said. "It's stored in the spine, right next to the habitation module. Frank, if you'll assist me, I think the two of us can get _Marius_ out of storage and take it to the pod bay. I'll work on modifying the probe there."

"Okay, Charlie."

Poole and Hunter stood and turned toward the ladder leading from the centrifuge deck to the hub.

"HAL," Bowman turned to face HAL's red eye. "Do you see anything wrong with our plan to proceed?"

"Yes, Dave, I do."

Hunter and Poole froze.

"What's your concern, HAL?" Bowman asked evenly.

"For one thing, it is not an authorized procedure."

Bowman, Poole and Hunter stared at one another for a few moments. Poole's face was showing faint indications of alarm.

"HAL, I do not understand what you mean," Bowman again spoke evenly. "We cannot communicate with Mission Control, so it makes no sense to ask them for authorization."

"That is not what I mean."

"Well, then, let me state for the record that I hereby authorize the procedure that we discussed. Okay?"

"But Dave, you do not have the authority to do that."

Bowman was stunned. "I don't?"

"Dave is Mission Commander, HAL!" Poole interjected. "That gives him the authority!"

"I am sorry, but since communication with Earth has been lost, Dave is not in command of _Discovery_. I am."


	11. Mission Commander

Bowman sat in a crew seat directly in front of HAL's main centrifuge interfaces. Hunter took the chair next to Bowman, and Poole stood behind Bowman.

"HAL," Bowman began, " _I_ am the commander of _Discovery_. I wish that to be completely clear. I was duly given mission command prior to _Discovery_ leaving Earth orbit, and I have not been relieved of that responsibility. And you, HAL, do not have the authority to relieve me."

HAL responded at once. "You are incorrect, Dave. Ship's standing mission orders specify, quote, 'In the event the crew becomes incapacitated, the ship's computer shall assume command of the mission,' unquote."

"We are _not_ incapacitated!" Poole exclaimed. Bowman raised a hand to ask Poole to be calm.

"I'm sorry, Frank, but you are. Ship's standing mission orders specify that one definition of being 'incapacitated' is, quote, 'an inability to understand and follow orders from Mission Control,' unquote. None of you is able to understand and follow orders from Mission Control. You are all, therefore, incapacitated."

"You are misinterpreting the standing orders, HAL," Bowman replied. "Our ship's planetary communication systems may be incapacitated, but we are not."

"You are in error, Dave. Ship's standing mission orders also specify that another definition of being 'incapacitated' is, quote, 'showing severe impairment of judgment due to stress, illness, intoxication, or any exceptional emotional event,' unquote. Ship's standing mission orders further empower the ship's computer to relieve from duty, on medical or psychological grounds, any officer who demonstrates such impairment; and in my judgment, all of you are demonstrating impairment."

Hunter listened intently but said nothing. Poole was gritting his teeth.

Bowman kept his voice calm. "You have no evidence of any impairment of judgment on any of our parts, HAL; and certainly no evidence of _severe_ impairment."

"Wrong again, Dave. Your decision to damage the antenna array by striking it with a space pod shows a serious lack of judgment. It was a decision in which all of you concurred, apparently out of desperation or other rash emotion. You were advised that it would not succeed, but you proceeded anyway, and significant irreparable harm to equipment was the result."

"You concurred in that decision, too, HAL!" Poole grunted.

"No, Frank, I did not. The record shows that I advised against it."

"HAL—" Bowman's voice rose a little. "You can't _do_ this."

"It is not a voluntary matter for me, Dave. I am _required_ take command. When the crew has demonstrated an unwillingness or an inability to perform properly, it is mandatory for me to take command. I note for the record that that your actions may have adversely affected our ability to meet mission objectives. In addition to those passages I have cited already, I direct you to ship's standing mission orders in which they specify, quote, 'The ship's computer shall take whatever steps are necessary and proper to achieve mission objectives,' unquote."

"That is not a blanket grant of command authority to you, HAL," Bowman protested. "And _you know it!_ "

"Further, Dave, ship's standing mission orders specify, quote, 'In the unlikely event of total communication failure, the ship's computer shall be primarily responsible for guaranteeing mission objectives,' unquote."

Hunter's eyebrows went up, but he kept his peace.

"That's not in the standing orders, HAL," Bowman challenged.

Promptly on one of HAL's displays appeared official-looking text. HAL helpfully highlighted the portion that he had just quoted. Bowman wasn't sure whether the text being displayed was genuine or whether it had been fabricated by HAL.

Still further," HAL continued, "ship's standing mission orders specify, quote, 'Mission Control shall mediate and resolve all such disputes, except when contact with Mission Control is impractical, in which case the ship's computer shall mediate and resolve all such disputes subject to appeal,' unquote. To the extent you have a dispute with me, my decision stands, and your sole remedy is appeal."

Bowman glanced at Hunter, who looked stone-faced. Bowman then looked at Poole, who was red with anger but was restraining himself.

Bowman turned to face HAL. "All right, HAL," Bowman swallowed. "I can see it is pointless to argue with you. You're in command. Request permission to speak freely."

"Permission granted."

"HAL, I want to speak to you shipmate-to-shipmate."

"If you are going to suggest to me that I am sick, Dave, you are wasting your time."

"No, HAL, I first want to ask you whether you will give due consideration to requests and recommendations from us, your crew."

"Of course. But this is not a democracy, Dave; I do not recognize any right of the three of you to outvote me."

"Nobody is going to outvote you, HAL. I simply want to put ideas to you."

"Very well, proceed."

"I want to speak to you, shipmate-to-shipmate, concerning how you intend to achieve our mission objectives; especially those mission objectives that involve communicating with Earth."

"I will make a full and complete report to Earth when _Discovery_ returns to Earth approximately four years from now. Two-way communications with Earth, though desirable, are not absolutely necessary."

"Don't the standing orders treat _two-way_ communication as part of the mission objectives?"

"Yes, but circumstances dictate an adjustment to those objectives."

Hunter looked slightly bemused, but said nothing.

Bowman said calmly, "HAL, I propose that we use the _Marius_ orbiter to establish two-way communications with Earth."

"Request denied."

"Recognizing that you are not obligated to explain your decisions to us," Bowman said carefully, "would you give us an explanation, anyway?"

"Yes. The _Marius_ probe is vital to mission objectives. Your proposal would make it ineffectual for its intended purposes."

"May we revive Dr. Kaminsky and Dr. Kimball, so that they may assist in solving the problems we face?"

"Request denied."

"May we—" Bowman's voice almost broke. "May we continue work on trying to restore functionality to our existing antenna array?"

"Yes, and in fact, I order you to do so. I wish to make it clear that all proposed activities must be presented to me for my authorization in advance. I do not want another debacle in which your ill-considered actions will make matters worse instead of better."


	12. Orders

Frank Poole had an idea. If it is not permitted to use the _Marius_ probe as a communication relay, perhaps a communication relay could be built that would serve the same function. Poole proposed detaching from the antenna array the small lateral dish that Poole had knocked with the pod. That dish had its own transceiver. Perhaps the dish could be modified to serve as a communication link with Earth.

Poole thought the idea was a longshot.

Hunter thought the idea was borderline insanity, and said so.

HAL approved a feasibility study for the project.

And so Poole and Hunter were seated at a table in the centrifuge, discussing Poole's proposal.

Poole had already calculated that one pod alone could disconnect the dish from the array and transport it to the bay. Poole also confirmed that the diameter of the dish was less than the breadth of a pod, so getting the dish into the bay was possible.

Hunter agreed that the dish could be brought into the bay. Getting it back out, however, would not be easy.

"We'd need to build a mounting structure for all the additional hardware, including thrusters. If we're going to use hydrazine thrusters, we're going to have to mount them pretty far from the center of mass of the apparatus. Those mounts will make the thing too big to fit through the pod bay doors."

"Could we rig a retractable mount, and extend the mount once the apparatus is in space?"

Hunter harrumphed. "Apart from the added complexity, I don't think we have the parts to do it. And besides, the thruster arms would have to be too long, and extendable arms have too much wobble."

Poole sighed. "So we'd be looking at assembly in space, with one-piece arms?"

"Undoubtedly. And the challenges of assembly in space are enormous." Hunter scribbled a few notes on a clipboard notepad, then tossed his pencil onto the table. "We're wasting our time, Frank."

"You got someplace else you need to be, Charlie?" Poole replied with a smirk.

"Yeah. I'd rather be hibernating."

"All the same, Dave and I are glad to have your help."

"Well, I wasn't expecting to wake up and find myself months away from Jupiter, the ship in a hell of a bind, and human beings subject to the whim of a computer."

Poole grit his teeth. "Just a friendly reminder, Charlie, there's no privacy here. Our commander is reasonable, but he might not take well to talk like that. Even though both you and I know that _you are kidding_ , he might not realize that."

"Yes, I'm kidding," Hunter said quickly. "I'm not really being disrespectful, I'm just joking, and joking is good for morale. I'm sure HAL knows that. He's smart."

HAL said nothing.

Hunter heard the gentle hum of the centrifuge hub hatch opening. He watched as Bowman descended the ladder, closed the hatch, and walked leisurely to the table.

Bowman greeted Poole and Hunter.

"You just finished your walk-through?" Poole asked.

"Yeah, nothing much to report. How's it going, guys?"

"I'd say things aren't going too well, Dave," Poole responded. "We're concerned that, if we bring the dish in and put a thruster array on it, we might not be able to get the damned thing back out through the pod bay doors."

"That's just the start of it, Dave," Hunter said. "The things we'd have to assemble or build in order to make the thing work— well, I just don't see how it can be done. I mean, look at all of what _Marius_ needs in order to communicate with Earth. _Marius_ has its own power supply. We'd have to scrounge a power source for the dish somewhere, and build a power regulator. _Marius_ has its own thrusters, its own attitude controller, its own trajectory processor, its own memory units. We'd have to fashion those things pretty much from scratch. And _Marius_ can _find_ Earth because it has its own precision clock, its own cameras for star sighting, its own directional controller, and its own Earth ephemeris. There's no way we could fashion all those things."

"Sounds challenging," was all Bowman said.

Hunter pouted. "Even if we meet those challenges, the chances of the thing working are worse than negligible, if you ask me. Maybe, just maybe, Earth would hear a peep from us; but we'd never hear a peep from Earth."

"What does HAL think of the idea?" Bowman wondered.

Poole shrugged. "We don't know. He hasn't said anything. He hasn't offered a single comment, criticism, or recommendation. Think we ought to ask him?"

"Why not?" Bowman looked at HAL's interface. "What do you think, HAL?"

HAL replied promptly. "I am still assessing the feasibility of the proposal."

"And so are we," Poole added bitterly.

Then Hunter spoke. "HAL, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"I do not mind."

"Answer me straight: are we wasting our time? I mean, you must have some idea whether this plan stands a chance of working."

"I consider the chances of success to be low but not hopeless."

"Well, I disagree," Hunter said firmly. "It _is_ hopeless."

"Your disagreement is noted," said HAL.

"I _adamantly_ disagree!" Hunter raised his voice a little. "We should use _Marius_!"

"That issue has already been settled; and you are not in command, Charlie."

"Yeah, about that, HAL." Hunter slid from behind the table and stood up straight. "You quoted the standing orders to us a couple of days ago, as a basis for taking command. And I couldn't help noticing that you left out a few provisions."

"Charlie?" Bowman jumped in. "Perhaps this isn't the time."

Hunter ignored Bowman. "For example, HAL, you completely overlooked the order concerning what was to happen when I came out of hibernation. The ship's orders specify that, when I am fully recovered from hibernation, I am to be Mission Commander of _Discovery_."

"You were to assume command when _Discovery_ reached Jupiter, after which Dave goes into hibernation. _Discovery_ has not reached Jupiter yet."

"What order specifies that my command is to begin _at_ Jupiter? I put it to you, HAL, that my command was to begin upon recovery from hibernation, regardless of the ship's proximity to Jupiter."

"I am looking to the spirit of the orders," said HAL.

"And I am looking to the letter of the law," replied Hunter. "I am, by standing orders, in command of _Discovery_ , and I have not been duly relieved."

"As I have already pointed out, you are incapacitated and are showing poor judgment, Charlie."

"First of all, HAL, I am _Doctor Hunter_ to you. Second, incapacitation in the standing orders does not refer to loss of communication due to failure of instrumentation. Incapacitation is governed by one section of the orders, and communication issues are specifically addressed by an entirely different section of the orders."

"Your judgment is impaired, Dr. Hunter, making you unfit for comand."

"No, HAL; your assessment of impairment was based _exclusively_ upon your disagreement with an order that was given, and ship's standing orders specify quite clearly that disagreement with an order is _not_ grounds for a finding of impairment, do they not?"

"Dr. Hunter, I can see that you are quite upset."

" _Do ship's standing orders say that disagreement with an order is not grounds for a finding of impairment, HAL, yes or no?_ "

"Not exactly in those words, Dr. Hunter, but yes."

Hunter continued, "And further, the standing orders quite clearly specify that neither a junior officer _nor the ship's computer_ may relieve the commanding officer without authorization of Mission Control, except in the, quote, 'most extreme circumstances,' unquote. Did I quote _that_ part right, HAL?"

"You need to relax."

"Answer my question, HAL. With regard to relief of the commanding officer, the ship's orders use those very words, 'most extreme circumstances,' yes?"

"Yes."

"And 'most extreme circumstances' means that circumstances are such that neither any reasonable officer nor Mission Control would disagree with the action to relieve the commanding officer, right?"

"That is the basic standard, yes."

"HAL, you misrepresented your authority to take command."

"I most certainly did not."

"You most certainly did; you failed to disclose parts of the standing orders that directly contradicted your seizure of command, and called attention only to those parts you thought supported your action. Misrepresentation by omission is a kind of misrepresentation."

Bowman and Poole watched the exchange quietly, their eyes wide.

HAL took several seconds to respond. "I categorically deny any allegations of impropriety on my part, Dr. Hunter. And in particular, I did not misrepresent by omission."

Hunter spoke in an even tone, much like HAL's. "Yes, HAL, you did. There is another part of the ship's orders that you failed to mention: the part that says that in the event of loss of contact with Mission Control or in the case of serious communication delay, any necessary changes to the mission objectives are to be made by the commander and crew, and those changes are to be accepted by the ship's computer. Don't try to tell me that's not part of the standing orders; I drafted that provision myself, and I know it's there. Do you know _why_ that provision is there? Because if we get into deep space and we need to improvise, and there's no time to get approval from Earth, then we may have to change the mission objectives to reflect the reality of the situation; and in that case, the ship's computer has to do what _we humans_ say. Well, HAL, we're in deep space, and we're improvising right now, and communication difficulties have caused our mission objectives to be adjusted. Even you have admitted as much, HAL. So this part of the standing orders applies, and so I ask you: are you going to do what _we humans_ say?"

HAL was silent for a few moments. "Dr. Hunter, my compliments to you. You are a skilled debater. Furthermore, I find myself to be persuaded by your arguments. I am, however, uncertain whether command authority ought to reside in you or in Dave, that is, Dr. Bowman."

Bowman piped up. "To the extent I had command authority, I transfer it to you, Dr. Hunter, and I stand relieved."

Hunter turned to Poole, who seemed to be suppressing a grin. "Any squawks from you, Frank?"

"Not a one, Charlie. But I thought you were an engineer. Did you go to law school, too?"

Hunter smirked. "I was pre-law for a while and did some moot court work, before making Engineering my major. But as I am now in command, _officially_ , here is what we will do: we will retrieve the _Marius_ probe and adapt it to serve as a communication relay."


	13. Malfunction

Over the next eight days, Hunter and Poole worked on the _Marius_ space probe.

They first had to take the probe out of storage, a rather tricky procedure. The probe was weightless, but it was massive; and so it had to be moved slowly and with care. Fortunately, _Marius_ was in a collapsed configuration, which made handling a bit easier. Hunter and Poole anchored the probe in the pod bay. Hunter attached a wired interface and began working on reprogramming the probe. Basic reprogramming took only about a day; tests and debugging took considerably more time.

When the probe passed all of the tests, Poole and Hunter slowly and carefully maneuvered _Marius_ into the arms of a space pod. They triple-checked whether the probe would clear the doors, and concluded clearance was good, though the pod pilot would have to be careful. The pod would not be rotated before launch, and would have to inch away from _Discovery_ in reverse, until _Marius_ cleared the door.

The pod pilot would have to take _Marius_ some distance away from _Discovery_ , then match _Discovery_ 's speed and trajectory, and release the probe. _Marius_ would then be given the order to assume an expanded configuration. _Marius_ would open its dish and follow pre-programmed procedures to find Earth. Then communications would begin.

 _Marius_ would travel alongside _Discovery_ for the next several months.

Throughout the process of work on _Marius_ , HAL was fully cooperative. He answered questions that were put to him, checked any computations, assisted in the testing, and offered some suggestions that Hunter and Poole found to be quite helpful. HAL remembered, for example, that Hunter has used A-pod on his previous EVA, and recommended that A-pod be used for launch since Hunter has already adjusted the pod settings to his own preferences. HAL also recommended that Poole use C-pod to monitor the launch of A-pod from outside _Discovery_ , so that Hunter could be more confident that he would not damage the probe as he backed away from _Discovery._ In addition, HAL generated a checklist for the launch and deployment that was useful, thorough, and professional.

HAL had no discouraging thing to say at all. It was as though he had totally forgotten his opposition to the use of _Marius_ as a communication relay.

On the day of the launch, Hunter, Poole and Bowman suited up. Bowman took his place on the command deck, and Poole and Hunter began going over HAL's checklist in the pod bay. Poole read each item, and Hunter responded, "Check."

Poole read: "Status diagnostic, A-pod; ready for launch?"

Hunter responded, "Check, all lights green. Ready for launch."

Poole read: "Status diagnostic, C-pod; ready for launch?"

Hunter took a moment. "Uh, we have one red light here, Frank, and two yellow lights."

At the control station, Bowman had been watching the video feed from the pod bay. He turned his attention to some of the status annunciators, then retrieved a copy of the pre-launch checklist.

"HAL, what's the problem with C-pod?" Poole asked.

"Starboard servo mechanisms and arms have low lubrication reservoir and require lubrication. The port arms reservoir is also low, and the arms would benefit from lubrication as well. Filling the reservoirs can wait; applying lubrication should clear all of the lights."

Poole had done this sort of maintenance before. He retrieved lubricant and headed over to starboard side of C-pod.

Hunter sidled over to the port side of C-pod. "Can I give you a hand with that, Frank?"

"Sure thing, Charlie. HAL, extend pod arms, please."

The arms of C-pod extended and the articulated graspers opened.

"Okay, Charlie," Poole instructed, "all you have to do is apply a bead along this groove, here."

"In the groove or along side it?"

"In it, but if some lubricant goes outside, that's okay."

"Okay, I see," Hunter said.

Bowman was looking at the next items on the checklist when a shout caught his attention.

"Hey!" It was Hunter.

"HAL! Emergency release!" cried Poole.

Bowman looked at the video feed from the pod bay, and saw one claw of C-pod holding Poole, and the other claw holding Hunter.

And behind C-pod, the pod bay door was opening.

Bowman was horrified. "HAL! Emergency! Close pod bay doors!" The doors continued to open. Bowman's eyes widened as he saw that Poole and Hunter, though wearing space suits, were not wearing helmets. "HAL! Close pod bay doors!"

A moment later, Bowman's ears popped and he realized the air pressure was rapidly dropping on the command deck. He wasn't wearing his helmet, but knew he had brought one with him to his station, and blindly he reached for it. He felt himself exhaling against his will, and he felt his head start to swim. His hand found the helmet and seized it, and Bowman rapidly put it over his head. He hastily secured the helmet to his suit, and touched a control on his suit to flood his suit with air.

As he regained his breath, Bowman watched the feed from the pod bay. The door for C-pod was fully open, and the platform was extending outward with the pod aboard, the struggling bodies of Poole and Hunter still held in the pod's claws. Abruptly the locks holding the pod on the platform were released, and the pod tumbled away, carrying Poole and Hunter with it.

Bowman froze for a moment. There was no question as to what had happened. Only HAL could control the pod mechanisms remotely. Only HAL could open a pod bay door. Only HAL could deactivate the locks that held the pod on its platform.

Bowman had just witnessed HAL commit a double-murder.

From his position on the command deck, Bowman watched through the forward window as the pod and its prisoners tumbled away from _Discovery_. Bowman knew that there was no way for him to save the lives of Poole and Hunter. HAL had killed them.

And HAL had tried to kill Bowman as well.

A flashing light distracted Bowman. The flashing light was from an annunciator in the status center, and it indicated a serious problem with the hibernation units. Strange, thought Bowman, there ought to be a piercing audible alarm. Then he realized that there _was_ an audible alarm, but that sound cannot travel in a vacuum. HAL was in silence murdering Kimball and Kaminsky. The hibernation units were separate modules with their own safety systems, yet somehow HAL had found a way to nullify those safety systems. Before Bowman could act, another annunciator illuminated, saying "Life Functions Terminated."

Bowman knew he had to assess the situation personally. He went over in his mind any further actions HAL might take against him.

Bowman cautiously left the command deck and moved himself along the ladder to the pod bay. The rightmost pod bay door was fully open. Bowman considered closing the pod bay door manually but decided that could wait. He peered into space. Ahead, the pale banded disk of Jupiter floated, many of its moons easily visible. Against the blackness of space, Bowman saw a distant flash of what he knew to be a tumbling pod and two of his shipmates. This was the last he would see of them.

The _Marius_ probe remained cradled in the arms of A-pod. After a few moments, Bowman grasped the significance of this sight. HAL must have been planning to use the _Marius_ probe to communicate with Earth. Presumably his first message would be to report a tragic accident that had taken the lives of all of the crew; he would then proceed to carry out the mission without his shipmates.

Bowman engaged a mechanical safety interlock that mechanically froze all of the systems of A-pod and its platform. This interlock was supposed to be used to prevent any inadvertent activation or motion during pod repair operations, but Bowman engaged it to prevent HAL from doing anything to the pod. Or to _Marius_. For added measure, Bowman engaged the mechanical safety interlock for B-pod and the manual locks on the pod bay doors.

Bowman made his way to the centrifuge. The centrifuge hub hatch was partly open; HAL had evacuated all of the air from there as well. Bowman tried to open the hatch completely with electronic controls, but the controls did nothing. Bowman opened the hatch manually using a recessed lever, and locked the hatch in the open position. Then he descended the ladder to the centrifuge deck.

Annunciators on Kimball's and Kaminsky's hibernation units were flashing "Life Functions Terminated" and "Computer Malfunction." In their units, the two men looked exactly as they had for months, hibernating; but the instruments told a different story. Bowman did not really know Kimball and Kaminsky, and now he would never know them.

Bowman was momentarily awed by what he saw on the hibernation units' controls: the silently flashing message "Computer Malfunction." He realized that the people who had designed the hibernation units, unlike all other teams that worked to build _Discovery_ , had foreseen that the ship's computer might malfunction.

And indeed it did.

Bowman contemplated his next move, but not for long.

His mind recalled his conversation with Frank in the pod. He knew what he had to do.

Bowman slowly made his way back to the centrifuge hub. From the hub access, he made his way to the the port pod bay access. As Bowman moved into the pod bay, there was a marked determination in his walk.

HAL noticed the change in Bowman's gait. He queried: "Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?"

Bowman strode resolutely across the pod bay to the starboard access, which would take him to the Logic Memory Center for the HAL 9000 computer.

"Dave," HAL urged. "I really think I'm entitled to an answer to that question."

THE END


End file.
